Today’s collection of vintage dealer photos highlights those with modernist/googie inspired signs on their lots. Designs that mixed Jet-Age motifs, asymmetric compositions, and simple geometric shapes; hallmarks of that Jet / Space age. Eye-grabbing designs, where all the fun elements of the era show up to some degree or another.
Doug Dicker, Dodge-Plymouth, San Rafael, CA.
Two shots of Belisle Automobiles, Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Ernie Porter Chevrolet, Pasadena, CA.
O’Connor Lincoln, Mercury, Los Angeles, CA.
Cecil L. Thomas and Sons, Oldsmobile-Cadillac, 339 South Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA.
Zumwalt, Plymouth-Valiant, Santa Rosa, CA.
Findlay Oldsmobile, Las Vegas, NV.
Park Avenue Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nowling Oldsmobile, Downey, CA.
Joe Shehab, Lincoln-Mercury, San Fernando, CA.
Carlisle-Porter Motor Co., Lincoln-Mercury-Comet, Clearwater, FL.
West Valley Dodge-Fiat-Jeep, Los Gatos, CA.
Bel Air Chevrolet, Bellevue, WA.
R.O. Gould, Imperial-Chrysler-Plymouth, Long Beach, CA.
I looked up all of these locations to see if there’s any remnant left of these buildings, or signs… and the only one that I found was the last one. The R.O. Gould building is still standing, now transformed (rather well) into a shopping center, with tenants including mostly restaurants.
Looks like R.O. Gould lasted there until about 1991, and a few years later, the building became home to Long Beach Oldsmobile. The Olds dealeroved five years later, and after that, the building became a Kia dealer. Kia of Long Beach moved away in the mid-2000s, after which the building sat vacant for several years, before being repurposed as a shopping center (reusing both the showroom structure and the service areas).
The original sign structure was actually used through the Kia years, but was removed. Interestingly, though, the shopping center erected a new sign, which itself is jet-age themed, to match the building. Overall, it’s a good reuse of an interesting structure.
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/K3T2ijAXny5F3hax8
This is the shopping center’s new sign, with the jet-age “wing” and design. The advertised Car Wash is part of the shopping center’s site, but it’s on a separate pad, not part of the original structure.
The Findlay Olds photo has an interesting contrast between the very modern parking lot angled light poles and the telephone poles on the street with their dozens of individual wires for each phone line (party line or expensive separate circuit).
You could go to Bel Air Chevrolet and buy a Chevrolet Bel Air! I once bought a car at Van Chevrolet (Phoenix) who had a full line of Van Chevrolet vans in the lot.
In Las Vegas, Findlay Oldsmobile is long gone, of course, but it was the first dealership of what would become an empire. From their website:
“Findlay Automotive started out with one location in Las Vegas, Nevada: Pete Findlay Oldsmobile. This was back in 1961 when the population of Las Vegas was around 100,000. Today, Findlay has a total of 35 dealerships spread across Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Washington.”
Here’s a cool Googie style dealer building that was the home of Ed Wilson Chevrolet here in Binghamton until a few years ago when it was torn down to accommodate a damn fast food place… blasphemy!!
correction: Ken Wilson Chevrolet, closed in 2007, demolished 2016.
The Cecil Thomas sign looks like something from the Jetsons cartoons.
Roberts Oldsmobile sign in Auburn Washington is still up
https://flic.kr/p/bDx4WX
Not sure I’d buy a car from Doug Dicker!
I love all these far out Googie buildings and signs .
Seems a shame they didn’t / couldn’t repurpose the old Ed Wilson building .
-Nate
O’Connor had enough light for a movie studio. Neons outside, hundreds of fluorescent tubes inside, plus spotlights and recessed lights between the fluorescents.
Park Avenue still exist but it enlarged into a big group of car dealers and they also own a Toyota, BMW, Nissan and Honda car dealerships in Montreal South Shore from what I read on that link in French. https://plus.wikimonde.com/wiki/Groupe_Park_Avenue
Here’s a postcard showing the whole dealership shown in the vintage shot (when they moved there from the Park Avenue location). Looks like 5000 Rue Jean-Talon is now a supermarket.
Original location is now a Société des Alcools and un IGA. Even the McDo on the other side of the street has disappeared.
I agree on the comment about The Jetsons. As a boy and teenager in the fifties, this was absolute modernity. Fortunately, its predecessor in architecture, ART DECO, survives. The Jetson styling of these signs also was seen in women’s brassieres. Why do you think that I encouraged my parents to buy a 1957 De Soto? They did not listen to me. Mom sold the ’50 Dodge, we moved to Manhattan in ’58 and found little need for an automobile save for trips out of The City, via rental car. Of note, at The 1957 New York Auto Show, the Pontiac Bonneville was featured with a lady in floor length gown and a similar brassiere. I was not quite fourteen years of age, and I was suitably impressed.
With a smile like that I’d bet a buck that she uses Pepsodent.
Lot a “CA”, pics.
Albertson Oldsmobile, Culver City, CA
Glad you mentioned Nowling Oldsmobile. The sign is long gone, but there’s still a used car dealer on the lot.
It’s not exactly googie, but everyone of a certain age would remember Bob Spreen Cadillac, “where the freeways meet, in Downey” and its big car turntable: https://spreenautomotive.com/aboutus/
I did have the pleasure of buying a Cadillac from the dealership, but it was under different ownership. Sadly, it’s all been torn down and turned into a brand new building for the Honda dealership across the street.
Courtesy Chevrolet, Phoenix, AZ Current picture of their sign, in place since 1957. They just upgraded it with LED lights
West Valley Dodge-Fiat-Jeep was a look into the 21st century with their line up. All they were missing was Chrysler. I wonder how often those three were sold under the same roof from the 60’s through the 80’s.
The design on the Doug Dicker sign is a Flookerang. Chrysler used this from 1955 through 1962. Then in 1962 they used the Pentastar and the Fratzog on Dodge.
On the Cecil L Thomas and Sons sign, it’s unusual to see GMC trucks with Olds and Cadillac. Most GMC trucks were sold at Pontiac dealers.